Cutting machine



Patented Get. 2, 1923.

' aeazs WILLIAM cpeaxznn, or BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS, essierion To UNITED sHo MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATERSQN,:1\TEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

Corrine MACHINE.-

Application fi erina 19, 1921. Serial no. 470,875.

Massachusetts, have invented certain 1m provements in Cutting Machines, of Which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several f gures.

This invention relates to cutting machines and more particularly to machines for cuttin blanks from sheet material;

ill the feeding of sheet material to cutting devices feed rolls or cylinders are quite commonly employed because of the simplicity of construction in the feed op- .eratingmeans and theefliciency of the rolls or cylinders both in feeding and guiding the sheet material to cutting position. 'Since the extent of the surface of the stock which is trictionally engaged by the feed roll or cylinder during feeding operations varies with the size of the feed rolls employed, it

is clear that the size of thet'ccd rolls should be earet'rfully determined with relation t the Weight and surface cltiaracteristics oi? the stock to be fed. Heretofore in the "feeding of relatively heavy stock, Where :teed rolls "have been employed they have been. of such a size and so positioned that a considerable space has been left between the feed rolls and thecuttcr t which the stock is being fed. Even When the rolls Were placed as closely adjacent as possible to the cutting means in such prior constructions a space was left in which a substantial end portion of the material remained unfed between the} 1llustra-t1ve cutting machine showing the novel feeding means and' ts relation to the rolls and the cutting means. I It is an object or" the invention to provide improved means for feeding the described end portion of the stock into proper cutting position. V

In one aspect, the invention resides inan improved feeding means for sheet material wherein feed rolls are provided which are so'constructed and arranged as to insure the proper feeding" of every portion of each sheet presented thereto so that no substantial portion thereof remains unfed.

7 From another viewpoint, the invention contemplates the provision of auxiliary feeding means located and operating between 'the sheet Y feeding means and the cutting means for'assistingin the feeding of the sheet material vand particularly for progressively engaging different por tions of a surface of the end portion of eachsheet after it passes from the control of the main sheet feeding'me'ans to position it in definite relation to the cutting means.

In the illustrative machine a relatively small feed roll is'disposed closely adjacent to the cuttingineaiis and is so mounted as to engage the upper surface and alsof n'end surface oi the described end portion of the stock to move the latter t proper position with respect to the'cutting means. Prefer-' ably the auxiliary feed device is so constructed as to eng'agethefupper surfaceof thematerial at a plurality or points separated a considerable 'distanceQfrom each" other in a direction transverse to the line of feed thereby insuring better control" of the'materi'al during feeding thereof.

It is a further vobject of the invention to provide improved'means fof directing 'the advance end of the sheet material being fed properly into the field of cutting operations. Conveniently the feed roll Which, in the illustrative construction, serves to feed the end portion of the sheet material to the cut- 7 ting means operates also to guide the adjvance end of each sheet into proper relation to the cutting means,

Other important features 01": the invention, I

including combinations of parts and details of construction, Will be described in the spe'cification and pointed out in the-appended claims. I p

'In'the drawings V Figure 1 is a sectional View through the cutting means, the section bein i p t Fig. 2 is a section along the line 2 2 of Fig. 1; and i Fi 3 is afdetail vieiv aers ective a portion of the feeding nieansj V In the illustrative embodiment of the invention there is provided a table' l for supporting. the Work and guiding it to'the first pair of'feed rolls 6 ivliich seize the sheet material and feed 'it oi vvardly into the grip of a second'pair of feed rolls 8, the said feed 7 rolls being mounted in bracketslO and '12 in such manner that the feed rolls cooperate with each other on opposite sides of the planeof the sheet material which is being fed. Sincethe cutting operations are performed through the operation'of members 'which h'ave a. relative 'reciprocatory movement; means (not shown) is provided forintermittently rotating the feed rolls so as to feed the stock step by step into proper cutting position. As shown, the cuttin means comprises a die 14 having an upwardly facingcu tting edge upon which the sheet material is forced by the, cutter plate 16 secured to the block carrier 18 which receives reciprocatory motion through a. p'itman 20 from a source of power not shown. In order that the incoming sheet of material may be introduced into the grip of the feed rolls 6 at the proper time there is provideda stop 20 plate .22 pivotally supported at 24 by a holder 26 which is slidable vertically within a bearing 28 through, connections comprising a'rod 30 connected bymeans of a sleeve 32 to V a crank arm 34 secured to the rock shaft 36.

r lVhen the 'sheet material is in positionbeneath the stop 22 downward movement of the crank 'arm 3 4 serves merely to compress the spring 38 which surrounds the'rod 30.

7 When however the material is passed from below the stop 22 the latter is pressed down upon the table and is interposed in the path of the oncoming sheet andis withdrawn at' the proper time to permit of the move 'ment of the sheet into the grip of the feed rollers 6 thus ensuring that the forward end of the sheet will be positioned properly with respect to .the die 14 for the first cutting operation. In the illustrative machine a supporting plate l0 is provided pivoted at its rear end at 42 to the table 4- and positioned between sections of the tion of Figure 1 of the drawings. Upon de scentof the cutter plateand carrier 18 a lug theupper surfaceiof the work tordepress the worlifalong with the front end of the sup- .porting plate and the stripper.mernber at the same time that the work is being forced upon the die-14L, thus preventing any abrupt folding or bending of the material F adjacent the d'iefwhile a blank is being cut therefrom. As the block carrier 18 rises 'no' obstruction to the forward feeding of the adjacent end of the plate 40' and the work slightly above the plane of the cutting edge of the; die as will be clear from an inspecf fer-.8 secured to the block carriernand having 7' ts lower face in the same plane with the cutting surface of the plate 16 engages with the stripper plate e4 moves upwardly to strip the material from the die and to carry it into position in a plane slightly above the cutting edge of the die so that there will be 7 material preliminary to a succeeding cutting operation. The operation of the mechanism thus far described will be understood as "involving the feeding of sheet material intermittently to the die 14- by means of the feed rolls 6 and 8 after a preliminary positioning of each sheet. through the operation of the stop 22. For a more detailed description of .the feeding and cutting means described in the foregoing portion of thisspecification, reference should be had to' United States Letters Patent No.'1,3l4:,975, granted June 29, 1920, upon application of William C. Baxter.

It will be observed that the feed rollsS are spaced a considerable distance from the adjacent edge of the die 1 1 and hence additional feeding means must be provided in order to take care of the end portion of the sheet material being fed after it passes beyond the grip of the feed rolls 8. In other words an end portion of material is normally left injthe space between the rolls 8. and the adjacent edge ofithe diell to be fed by some auxiliary feeding means which, in the illustrative construction embodying applicants invention, comprises a relatively small feed roll-50, or rather twofeed rolls 50 located closely adjacent tothe near edge of the die 14 and spaced a considerable distance from each other and provided with teeth to engage firmly with the upper surface of the sheet material and feed the same forwardly into position over the die at thev same time retaining perfect control of the sheet material being'fed. As shown, the feed rolls 5 0 are integral with orfsecurely attached to gear wheels 52 mounted rotatively upon ashaft 54 carried by the lower end of a bar56'mounted slidably in a guide- 1110 way 58. For holding the feed rolls yieldingly in contact with the work and for moving the feed rolls downwardly for a purpose that will be hereinafter. described; there is provided a spring 60 located: in a socket. in the upper end ofithe bar 56'and pressed upon by an adjustableiset screw 62. Con veniently the feed I rolls 5,0 are. driven by connections with the upper feed rolls 8, the V arrangement being such that the small feed,

rolls 50 are intermittently operated in syn chronism with thelarge feed rolls and atthe same peripheral speed. As shown, the oper-', ating connections comprise gear wheels v64:

conveniently secured each "to aside of an adjacent upper feed roll 8 by a screw 65, and small gear wheels 68 held constantly in mesh with gears 64 and with the small gears 52. For holding the gear wheels 68 each in mesh with its corresponding gear 64 there'is pro 0' V to position the rearedge of the sheet mavided a link having two arms 72, one on each side of the-bar 56 and having bearings 74 which surround and maintain the shaft 7 6 at a fixed distance with respect to the center of the shaft 66 whereby the gears 68 carried by the shaft 7 6 are held constantly in mesh with the gear wheels 64. The gears 68 are in turn held in mesh with the gears 52 and hence the shaft 7 6 is also mounted in the bar 56 which carries the shaft 54 for the lower pair of gears. Since the bar 56 is movable vertically,'the shaft 76 is so mounted within the bar that the said movement may take place without disturbing the relation between the various sets of gears. It is for this reason that the shaft 76 is mounted in a slot 7 8 in the bar 56, the said slot, however, being so shaped as to maintain the shaft 7 6 constantly at the same distance from the shaft 54. As shown, the link 7 0 has flanges 80 (Fig. 3) at opposite side portions which are receivable 1n circular slots 82 (Fig. 1) in the opposed side faces of the gears 6d, the mounting of the link 70 being such as topermit movement of the link and, therefore, of thegears 68 about the center of the shaft 66, while maintaining the said gears constantly in mesh with the large gear wheel 64. Since the feed rolls 50v are mounted in the lower end of the bar 56 which is spring-pressed downwardly, the said feed rolls operate to hold the sheet material properly on the support and guide its forward edge into the space between the cutting plate 16 and thedie 14:, the rotation of the members 50 being a distinctaid in the guiding function of said members. Another particular advantage of the feed rolls 5O lies in their position closely adjacent tothe near edge of the die 14: so that the material is controlled during its movement by means operating close up to the die. Furthermore, by mounting the feed rolls50 upon the movable bar 56 the rolls are carried downwardly into engagement with the rear edge surface of the piece of material as it passes by, thus enabling the feed rolls to, moveeven nearer to the die and terialbeing fed in close juxtaposition to the near edge of the die., It will thus appear that the feed rolls'50 provide means interposed between the large feed rolls and the die for positively controlling the end portion of the sheet material and feeding it into cutting position and for positioning the said endportion withone of its edges so close to a cutting side edgeof the die astoensure that a perfect blank will beformed,

providing the said end portion is large enough to provide a blank when positioned with the greatest care with respect to the die. Q

' Conveniently, the lower end of. the bar 56 furnishes .a support for the stop plate 22 in conjunctionwiththe holder 26 above described. As shown, a link 84: (Figs. 1 and 3) pivotally connects the rear end'of the stop plate with the lowerend of the bar 56, the

:link 84 beingreceived in a recess in the lower end of the bar. It will be understood position with respect to the die 14 and hence .it will be seen that the feed rolls 50'may perform an important oflice in additionto that of feeding the end'portion of the sheet material as set forth in detail in the foregoing I description.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent ofthe United States is 1, In a machine of theclass described, cutting means, means for feeding sheet material to the cutting means, the. construction and arrangement being such that the feeding means is, spaced from the cutting means, and

sheet material after it leaves the first-mentioned feeding means constructed to control positively the movement of said end portion to cutting position.

2. In a machine-or the class described, cut- 'ineans for feeding the end portion ofthe ting means,means spaced from the cutting means for feeding sheet material thereto. and'means interposed between the cutt ng:-

means and the first-mentioned feeding means for feeding the end portion of the material a predetermined distance to the cutting means.

3. In a machine-of the class'describe'd, cutting means, means spaced from the cutting means for feeding sheet, material thereto, and positively operated means constructed toengage and control the end portion .of the material for feeding the "same into 'definite relation with respect to the cutting 4.. In a machine of the class described, cut 1 ting means for sheet 'material, feed rolls, for 'feedlng sheet material to the; cutting means, constructed. to engage'both the upper and lowersurfaces of the sheetmaterial, the

construction and arrangement bei'ng'such that thefeed rolls are spaced from the cutting means, and means interposed between V the feed rolls and the cutting means for engaging the end portion of the material. after itleaves the feed rolls to feed the same into definite relation with respect to the cutting means. L

5. In a machine of the class described,cutting means for sheet material, feed rolls, for feeding sheet material to the cutting means, constructed to engage both the uppe and lower surfaces of the sheet material, the construction and arrangement being such that the feed rolls are spaced from the cut ting means, and means engaging the upper surface of the sheet material toieed the end portion thereof located between. the feed rolls and the cutting means into proper position with respect to the cutting means.

6. In a. machine of the class described, cutting means for sheet material, teed rolls spaced from the cutting means and operative to feed the sheet material to the cutting means,means for driving the feed rolls comprising a gear wheel, and means driven from said gear wheel for engaging the portion of the sheet material between the feed rolls and the cutting means for feeding the same into proper position with respect to the cut ting means.

7.111 a machine of the class described, a cutter, a table for supporting sheet material, teed rolls for feeding the sheet material toward the cutter, and a presser foot for holding thelsheet material upon the table ata point closely adjacent the cutter during a cutting'operation, said presser foot coma prising a feed roll operative to direct the advance end portion of the sheet material into cutting positlon.

8. In a machine of the classdescribed, a cutter, a support for sheet material, a feed rollspaced from the cutter, for feeding the sheet material thereto, and a relatively small feed roll interposed between the first mentioned feed roll and the cutter and operative at'the same speed as the first-mentioned roll for engaging the portion of the sheet material'between the first mentioned feed roll and the cutter for feeding the same into cutting position.

9. In a machine otthe class described, a cutter, a support for sheet material, a cutter block for forcing the sheet material upon the cutter, the supportr being constructed to move with the cutterblock, aieed roll spaced 1 from the" cutter to feed the sheet material 'thereto, and means interposed between the "feed roll and the cutter and arran ed to move With the support and operative to feed the end portion ot the material located between the 'feed roll and the cutteninto V cuttin g position. 1

'material, a iced roll spaced from the cutter for feeding sheet material thereto, and means interposed between the feed roll and '10. In a machine of ,the' character idesci ibd, a cutter and a cutting ib'lOckre-la tively lrecipro'cable to effect cutting operations upon sheet material, a support for sheet the cutter for engaging the upper surface of the material and an end surface thereof to feed said end portion afterit leaves the feed rollinto definite cutting position with- 'yond the firstT'mentione'd iced "roll, and.

means driven from the gear wheel for opj erat'ing the small teed roll, r

' 12. In a machine of the character described, a cutter, a support for sheet mate- 'riahfeed rolls for feeding the sheet material over the support and into cutting position, said feed rolls being spaced from the cutter, and a relatively small feed roll interposed between the first mentioned; feed rolls and the: cutterv and operatively connected to the feed rolls to move synchronously therewith for feeding the" end portion of the sheetmaterlal into cutting position.

13. In a machine of the class described,

a cutter and a cutting block relatively reciprocable toward and from each other in cutting operations, a support for sheet mat rial, feed rolls for feeding the. sheet material in successive steps into cutting position, a relatively small feed roll interposed between said teed rolls and the cutter for teeoing the end portion of the material into cutting position after it has'left the large feed rolls,.m eans for supporting the small feed roll in such manner that it engages the top surface of'the sheet" material and also end urface-of the portion of ma terial between the large feed rolland the cutterto feed the same into cuttingposition.

14-. In a 'machine of the class described, a cutter and a cutting-block relatively reoiprocable toward and ifrom each other in cutting operations, a support for sheet materiahie ed rolls for feeding the sheet material 1n successlve steps into cutting *pos1- P tion, a relatively small feed roll interposed between said feed rolls and the was for feeding the end portion of the Ymaterial after it has left the 'largeiteed rolls, a'supporting bar in the lower end of which the small feed roll is pivoted, means for yield- [ingly pressing the supporting bar and feed roll toward the work support, and'mean's for oper-atively' connecting the "small feed roll 'with the largerieedrollss'o as to jbeposi-c tively'driven thereby; r

15. In a machine of theclassldescribed,

a cutter and a'cuttingblock relatively re ciprocable toward and from each other in cutting operations,a support for 'sheet material, feed rolls for feeding the sheet material in successive steps into cutting position, a relatively small feed roll interposed between said feed rolls and the cutter for feeding the end portion of the material after it has left the large feed rolls, a supporting bar having the small feed roll mounted on its lower end, means for yieldingly pressing the bar and feed wheel toward the work support so that the feed wheel engages both the top surface and an end surface of the end portion of the sheet material, and a gear interposed between the first-mentioned feed rolls and the small feed roll for positively driving the latter.

16. In a machine of the class described, cutting means, means for a feeding sheet material to the cutting means, the construction and arrangement being such that the feeding means is spaced from the cutting means, and means for feeding the end portion of the sheet material after it leaves the first mentioned feeding means constructed to engage widely spaced portions of the upper surface of said end portion to control posi-' tively the movement of said end portion to cutting position, and means for driving both feedin means at the same rate of speed.

lLIn a machine of the class described, cutting means, means spaced from the cutting means for feeding sheet material thereto, and a feed roll interposed between the cutting means and the first mentioned feeding means for feeding the end portion of the material a predetermined amount toward the cutting means.

18. In a machine of the class described, cutting means, means spaced from the cutting means for feeding sheet material thereto, and positively operated means constructed to engage the upper surface and subsequently an end surface of an end portion of sheet material to control the end portion of the material after it leaves the first mentioned feeding means for feeding the same a predetermined amount into proper posit-ion with respect to the cutting means.

19. In a machine of the classdescribed, work operating means, atable for support ing sheet material, means for feeding the sheet material toward the work operating means, and a presser foot for holding the sheet material upon the table at a point closely adjacent the work operating means during operation of the latter on the work,

said presser foot comprising a positively driven roll operative to direct the end portion of the sheet material into thefield of operation of the work operating means.-

20. In a machine of the class described, a cutter, a support for sheet material, feed rolls spaced from thecutter for feeding the sheet material thereto, a relatively small feed roll. interposedbetween the first mentioned feed rolls and the cutter for engaging the advance end portion of the sheet material for directing the same into proper position with respect to the cutter, and means for mounting the small roll to maintain it against movement laterally away from the cutter.

i 21. In a machine of the class described, a tool, a support for sheet material, a feed roll spaced from the tool to feed the sheet material thereto, and a relatively small feed roll interposed between the first-mentioned feed roll and the tool and driven at the same rate of speed and arranged to feed the end portion of the material located between the first-mentioned feed roll and the tool into operative position.

22. In a machine of the character described, a t'ool a support for sheet'material, and feed rolls comprising large and small rolls operating simultaneously and at the same rate of speed for feeding sheet material to the tool, the construction and arrangement being such that the small feed roll insures the proper feeding of the end portion ofthe sheet of material into position for the operation of said tool.

28'. In a machine of the character de- 7 scribed, a tool, a support for sheet material,

and feed rolls comprising large and small rolls for feeding sheet material to the tool, 7

the construction and arrangement being such that both large and small feed rolls co-operate in the feeding of all portions of each sheet, the small roll operating to insure the proper feeding of the end portion of the sheet into position for the operation of said tool.

24:. In a machine of the character described, a cutter, a support for sheet material, and a set of large and small feed rolls located closely adjacent to the cutter for feeding the sheet material over the support and into operative relation to said cutter..

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

- WILL AM o. BAXTER. 

